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What Are Applicant Tracking Systems?

By Kristin Kizer - Nov. 22, 2022
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Consider this statistic from Glassdoor, on average; each corporate job opening gets 250 resumes. That’s for one job. Can you imagine the amount of work you’re tasking your HR department with as they wade through the resumes and select candidates to interview? There’s an easier way, and it’s done through Applicant tracking systems. Read on to learn more.

Key Takeaways

  • Applicant tracking systems are a computer-based way to keep track of applicants for a job and wade through to find qualifications.

  • All-sized companies can use ATS to streamline their hiring process and remove the excess burden from hiring managers.

  • There are multiple benefits found within ATS that make them a great choice for businesses.

  • Applicant tracking systems smooth the process for everyone, making it more enjoyable and getting to the right hire faster.

What Is an Applicant Tracking System?

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is software designed to help companies organize and track candidates for a job. Many companies, especially larger ones, use these systems today to save time and quickly filter out job applicants to get to ones that fit their requirements. Some medium and small businesses are now considering the benefits of using an ATS.

ATSs have become more intuitive and can be tailored for each job listing to pull out applicants that have key qualifications. You can save HR and management a lot of time by using an ATS to filter out candidates that have no business applying for your job and ones who don’t come close to having the experience, education, or abilities necessary.

Then, your staff can give those better-qualified candidates a more in-depth view and touch base with them for the next steps.

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Why Use Applicant Tracking Systems?

It seems immediately evident why large companies would want to use an ATS, but what about small companies? The need for an ATS for a mid-to-small-sized company might even be greater. Large companies are almost never without qualified candidates looking to get in with big names. ATS can help companies that don’t have that brand recognition find top talent.

An ATS can help source and attract qualified contacts by casting a net in the marketplace. There are even systems with artificial intelligence and machine learning that create a profile of the ideal candidate and then compare each candidate to that profile to find a top hire. They’re filled with data about the company and the marketplace, making it easier to match people with careers.

Another reason to use an ATS is that they’re easy. Candidates like it when their data auto-populates, and moving through the process is intuitive and effortless. Long gone are the days of customizing a cover letter and resume for each job and then mailing it out on your finest stationery. Today, candidates want to click a couple of buttons, and their pertinent information is instantly uploaded.

This isn’t always a good thing because it allows unqualified people to apply for jobs. This is another way that an ATS is great; it weeds out those people. On both sides of the equation, ATS can be beneficial.

Benefits of Applicant Tracking Systems

Each system is different, and there can be some big differences, so it pays to research a few different ATSs to make sure you find one that offers what you need. That said, the following are some of the benefits of using an ATS.

  • Takes away busy work and keeps HR and management from wasting their time

  • Better experience for job candidates

  • Hiring process is streamlined and efficient

  • Improves job descriptions

  • Extends your job listing reach and expands visibility

  • Improve hiring compliance

  • Onboarding is standardized and efficient

One of the biggest benefits is once you’ve selected an ATS, you can customize it for different positions within the company. The same system that your staff will get to learn can do a multitude of tasks and work for different types of positions within a company.

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What Can Applicant Tracking Systems Do

It’s all about what an ATS can do for your company. Again, there is a lot of variety in the market, but most of them offer the following.

  • Scans resumes or applications for keywords

  • Uses knockout questions to eliminate “bad” candidates

  • Sorts applicants

  • Tracks applicants to see where they are and where they’re eliminated (can be used later)

  • Communicates with applicants to apprise them of the next steps or end of the line

  • Uses a scheduling component for interviews

  • Creates reports based on criteria to view candidate trends

  • Works within legal hiring criteria, ensuring compliance

Remember that you can also customize many ATS to finetune the process and allow candidates to be filtered directly to hiring agents or managers at any point in the process. It is controlled by the company, so it is not taking the human element out of the process.

Applicant Tracking System List

So, what companies offer ATS – a lot. Here is a sample list of a few different places where you can find applicant tracking software.

  • BambooHR

  • CareerBuilder Recruiting

  • Greenhouse

  • iCIMS Recruiting

  • JobScore

  • Jobvite Talent Acquisition Suite

  • Manatal

  • Oracle Taleo

  • PeopleFluent

  • Recruiterbox

  • Silkroad Recruiting

  • Workable

  • Workday Recruiting

  • Zoho Recruit

This list is by no means complete, but it’s a starting point that can help you begin finding the ATS for your company.

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Applicant Tracking Systems FAQ

  1. Do applicant tracking systems dehumanize hiring?

    No, applicant tracking systems use software to streamline the hiring process, but the software is controlled by humans, and usually, a human interview occurs at some point. Each business can manage how much they rely on its ATS to fit its hiring needs.

  2. Are applicant tracking systems fair to applicants?

    Overall, yes, applicant tracking systems are fair to the applicants. It would be a great benefit for an applicant to become familiar with what an ATS will be looking for on their resume and make sure that their resume fits those qualifications.

    Learning about desirable keywords, creating a resume that’s easy to scan and read, and brushing up on industry trends in resume writing can boost your odds with an ATS.

  3. Are ATS expensive?

    Applicant tracking systems come at a variety of price points. This means you can find some that are very expensive and some that don’t cost much at all. In fact, if you factor in the time your key hiring staff saves by not having to wade through every resume, you’ll come out way ahead in the long run.

  4. Why do you need an ATS?

    You don’t need an ATS, but one can be very useful if you do a lot of hiring. ATS can streamline the process and weed out the applicants who aren’t a good fit for the job. They put the best candidates in front of your hiring team faster so you can get them in position and not worry about losing them to other companies.

    They also help smooth the hiring process, so it’s easier for your staff and for the candidates, making the experience people have with your company more efficient and pleasant.

Author

Kristin Kizer

Kristin Kizer is an award-winning writer, television and documentary producer, and content specialist who has worked on a wide variety of written, broadcast, and electronic publications. A former writer/producer for The Discovery Channel, she is now a freelance writer and delighted to be sharing her talents and time with the wonderful Zippia audience.

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